Hunter's Blood (1986) User Reviews

Little-known gem

[TOMASBBloodhound · 7/10 · 31 March 2003]

Hunter's Blood is one of those little-known gems that some of us are lucky enough to have in our video collections. The story centers around five buddies who trek out to the Arkansas wilderness (actually filmed in California) to hunt deer. Game wardens warn them of a murderous gang of poachers in the area, but naturally our heroes disregard the warnings and set up camp. Sure enough, they eventually run into these poachers and several gun battles erupt.

This film was clearly inspired by Deliverance, as so many other films about the outdoors are. With Hunter's Blood, the emphasis is on action rather than characterization or drama. That said, there are still plenty of tense moments along the way as the action unfolds.

Perhaps one of the strongest things about this film is the collection of colorful characters who make up the poacher clan. There are plenty of creepy looking individuals among them who you will know doubt recognize from other films. Keep a close eye out for Billy Bob Thornton as he gets thrown from the back of a pick-up truck that takes a sharp turn too quickly.

Lots of blood and gore. You will need a strong stomach for a few of the scenes.

The film isn't too long and the conclusion is quite satisfying. This film is definitely worth a look if you can find a copy. I haven't seen it on the movie channels for years.

So sayeth the Hound.

Pretty good premise...

[hlw27 · 7/10 · 28 July 1999]

This movie is generally scary, especially if you enjoy movies where the theme is being "kidnapped or killed by serial killers and/or hillbillies". Kim Delaney is a hottie in this one too, but the typical dumb mistakes by the city slickers leads them to get chased all over god's creation, somewhere in backwoods Arkansas. When you receive warnings from the locals not to go somewhere, you should LISTEN!!! Overall, a must see!

A solid and effective backwoods survivalist horror.

[Corpus_Vile · 7/10 · 28 August 2010]

Five guys go down the deep South for a weekend of hunting, Fishing and generally macho stuff. However, one of them unwisely decides to start snapping pictures of surly locals when they stop off for a beer.

Worse still, one of them then decides to poke fun at a just as surly barmaid, and in the deep backwoods south, the locals don't take kindly to high falutin' big city slickers, and promptly attempt to extort them. One failed extortion attempt against them later and our boys are camping down, only to run into two spooked Sheriffs on horseback who flat out warn them about poaching hillbillies and further warn them that "people turn up missin' round these parts"...

Does this deter our protagonists? Hell no, they're here to do some hunting and fishing, and they're gonna, by gawd. Only thing is, our earlier hillbillies happen to know the forest like the back of their hands, and they're still mighty rankled at these city slickers besting them earlier...

Hunter's Blood is a nicely effective, well made and tense enough backwoods survivalist flick, that's well worth checking out, with decent performances, a solid cast (with Sam Bottoms, as well as a menacing Billy Drago, and a brief appearance by an unknown at the time Billy Bob Thornton. Who plays a hillbilly. Called Billy Bob) and nasty enough individual scenes.

Any fan of horror or tense thrillers should seek it out, it's an underseen little treat.

Hunting high & low, North and ...Redneck-South!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 26 February 2006]

Five macho but supposedly civilized men take off to the unexplored Arkansas woods to do some old-fashioned deer hunting. There they encounter a bunch of aggressive and large-scale poachers that don't really appreciate strangers trespassing their business. After a couple of banal showdowns follows a truly violent and merciless hunting contest that'll demand many lives! This rather unknown and underrated 80's exploitation movie opens rather slow and ordinary, with redundant speeches about manhood and the art of deer-hunting, but the exciting and genuinely suspenseful hunting sequences during the last half hour widely make up for this. This cool 80's gem has perhaps stolen its storyline and most essential moments from classic blockbusters like "Deliverance" and "the Deer Hunter", but the raw violence and effective shocks are director Hughes' very own merit. The film contains a couple of very graphic make-up effects, like a stabbing through the neck and a very eerie close-up shotgun killing. Many 80's horror movies feature undistinguished (to say the least) Southern folks as unhinged killers and the cast members of "Hunter's Blood" definitely belong to the most successfully menacing Rednecks ever. The filming locations are very impressive and even the photography is surprisingly professional. Keep also an eye open for Billy Bob Thornton in a very small role as background redneck. Recommended!

A "DELIVERANCE" KNOCK-OFF

[smurky · 12 July 2000]

You thought "Deliverance" was painful ?! It is a walk on the beach compared to "Hunter's Blood" !! I remember seeing it in the theater when it opened in 1987, I went because I had been a big fan of Clu Gulager who played Billy the Kid in the 60's TV Western "The Tall Man"...so people over the age of 50 will recognize him, but the next biggest name in this is Joey Travolta, who, unlike his brother, has zero talent. Their fight against the demented rednecks is very suspenceful, but I have to warn you that there is a very graphic, stomach-turning scene...have fun!

Very entertaining!!!

[chewmanchew · 7/10 · 30 July 2005]

Great movie! Yes, it's a knock-off of "Deliverance" (good movie also), but this movie is worth your while. It has hunting, a bunch of Southern stereotypes (...like Oklahoma, where these guys are supposed to be from, is so urbane!), Clu Gallagher, Billy Bob Thornton (watch for him falling out of the pickup truck--NOT SURE IF THAT'S A SPOILER OR NOT?), Sam Bottoms (of "The Outlaw Josey Wales" fame--my very favorite movie, by the way), plus Kim Delaney (pre-"NYPD Blue")! Oh, and Joey Travolta...Big John's brother! Can you ask for a better cast in a "B" movie? I especially like the early scenes before they actually get to the camp site. The bbq/bar scene is especially good--I love to quote that one!. But, who forgets "brew" on a hunting trip..?

Avoid this boring Deliverance ripoff

[TeenVamp · 1/10 · 7 March 2016]

I know why people give this decent reviews....because it had potential to be amusing cheesy 80's but it's not. The acting is awful, the story we've seen a dozen times (even by 1986), and the soundtrack sounds like they just grabbed anyone to do it. What really sucks is that with a better script and direction this had potential. Some actors who are known to give good performances are totally wasted in this mess of a movie. Clu Gulager tries to give his character more depth than it deserves. Bruce Glover (yes crispies dad) is just an annoying "crazy redneck" stereotype "one eye" lol. Billy Drago is wasted in a very minor role. If your in the mood to abuse yourself with almost 2 hours of a film nobody needed go ahead. Not on DVD yet save your $20 the VHS goes for. You've been warned.Go watch Rituals instead.

A Host of Character Actors

[BaronBl00d · 7/10 · 16 February 2013]

When it comes to seeing an actor's face that you know BUT may not know the name that goes with it...Hunter's Blood delivers. Hunters Sam Bottoms, Ken Swofford, Clu Gulager, Joey Travolta(I knew he was related to John but not his name), and a bunch of yelling, heehawing Arkansas rednecks like Bruce Glover(more on him later) and Bill Drago(The Untochables and Frank Nitti) and several others are just some of those FACES. Hunter's Blood, a movie which currently is only on VHS(old) and laserdisc(old) - with a GREAT cover, tells the story of five city guys going hunting deep in the Arkansas woods where a bunch of semi-civilized poachers live, eat, kill, procreate, etc... It falls into that sub-genre of horror of wilderness horror like Rituals(a great film). This is a good film as well. The direction is taut and suspenseful. The beginning is a bit slow and talky, but we get invested in the characters. I liked the five hunters. None of them were bad men really. There is even a great little talk about hunting and how it brings men closer together. The musical score is just right in keeping that suspense going - particularly as the film winds down to that inevitable climatic end. We get some great scenes like the bar scene with its tension. There is the bloody close-up of a head after having been blown off(not completely) by a shotgun. There is the battle with David and several different backwoods hillbillies. The acting was surprisingly good as was the script. Clu Gulager is at his best as is Ken Swofford. Joey Travolta is annoying - but he was playing an annoying character. God, does he do it well! Then there is Bruce Glover as One Eye....putting on his own Barnum and Bailey circus as all the acts rolled into one! Watching him bob and weave and repeat, "We're gonna get ya!"...over and over and over became quite chilling. Eye candy Kim Delaney is really unnecessarily brought along for the ride, but she does not really detract from the film. Two things other than the general quality of all involved stood out for me. One - If I were from Arkansas or anywhere near it I probably would be offended. These hillbillies are unkempt, sadistic, inbred, and cannibalistic(so it appears) as well as amorous toward members of their own gender(one guy really had the hots for Joey!). It is a stereotype of backwoods rednecks first enunciated by the city guys as they drive there and, rather shabbily I might add, interact with the locals and then later proved to be true(?) Two - I liked the twist at the end and how the movie throughout had, directly or indirectly, paid homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(there) or Deliverance or others. Hunter's Blood is a good film that deserves DVD treatment soon.

Hunting trip gone bad

[jgeez · 3/10 · 15 January 2005]

Not a lot here in the genre of city boys wandering into hillbilly country. All the cliché's are here, but this movie takes itself too seriously as a scary movie which it is not. As a B movie its not campy enough and as a thriller it fails miserably. For hysterical laughs I would recommend Redneck Zombies made on 100th of the budget and better cheesy gore effects. If you want a serious well made movie which this one is grafted from,Deliverance is the Gold Standard and Southern Comfort comes in a close second. A newer movie, Wrong Turn has done this premise again and is also well made. If this movie would have exploited ITSELF as Redneck Zombies did it might have been better.

Hunter's Blood is solid entertainment.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 1 October 2012]

Five men decide to go on a hunting trip in the backwoods of Arkansas: David (Bottoms), his father Mason (Gulager), Uncle Al (Swofford), their buddy Ralph (Nutter) and die-hard "city boy" and hunting newbie Marty (Travolta). Things seem to be going well, until they run afoul of some murderous "rednecks" who feel these city folk have intruded upon not just their land, but their illegal meat processing operation. So now it's a deadly game of hide and go seek with David, Mason, Al, Marty and Ralph versus their rural counterparts Snake (Drago) Wash Pot (Jones), Red Beard (De Broux), and Billy Bob (Thornton of all people). When the baddies kidnap David's girlfriend Melanie (Delaney), it's an all-out war for survival. Who will come out on top? In the 80's, Deliverance (1972) knockoffs and Wilderness Horror movies were huge in video stores. So it would be the most natural thing in the world to combine them. Hence, Hunter's Blood was born. It was co-written by the writer/director of 9 Deaths of the Ninja, Emmett Alston, and released in a very bright, clean-looking VHS by Embassy. It would make a nice double feature with Rituals (1977), if you can get a hold of both.

When the movie opens, the music on the soundtrack is a guy playing/bending ONE NOTE on the guitar, over and over again. Could this be a sign that the movie itself is a one-note? But then we get to know the protagonists of the piece, the only really likable one being David, portrayed by Sam Bottoms of Ragin' Cajun (1991) fame. He does a decent enough job, but there are so many characters he doesn't get enough time to shine. Then the "male bonding" occurs, and it seems like a 90-minute Jack Links commercial, and the fact that all the men sit around a fire and eat a pepperoni stick only reinforces that. There's a ton of inane potty humor/dialogue, a lot of which underlines the Deliverance-style homosexual nature of the proceedings. In fact, at times Hunter's Blood seems to aim to out-gay Deliverance. It was the 80's after all, they probably figured they had to ramp up the gay from the way it was in the 70's.

But once the plot kicks into high gear, there are a lot of nice surprises and worthwhile moments to raise Hunter's Blood above the pack. And let's not forget Joey Travolta is on board. A great moment comes when he guilelessly blurts out the line "I love TV!" Not any one particular show, just TV. There are plenty of country tunes that continually appear throughout the film, and the first credit after the movie ends shows this (seemingly a rarity), but the credit only lasts on-screen for about a fraction of a second. But we were able to determine the songs on the soundtrack are by Hamilton, Joe Frank and Weber. We can only assume this is the same group that sang the great song "Don't Pull Your Love", but that was Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. Either Reynolds was replaced by Weber, or, mirroring the "Deliverance knockoff" scenario, there's a "band knockoff" going on. Either way, no song herein is as good as "Don't Pull Your Love".

In the end, Hunter's Blood is solid entertainment, especially if you are a fan of survival-type movies.

For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Not even close to "Deliverance" in pacing & suspense

[AJ4F · 4/10 · 30 October 2011]

I think stilted acting and extreme hillbilly caricatures spoiled a movie that could have been a lot better.

I was soured early on by the scene where "tread lightly" was ignored at the peril of nature and equipment alike. But that was balanced by a scene where the father & son talk about only killing animals when necessary, which I suspect got more treatment in the original 1977 book.

There were a number of scenes where people seemed to have no clue about the carriage of sound in the woods. Whispering vs. yelling would have been a good idea early on. They didn't get serious enough, soon enough about their predicament, which lent an air of unrealism to the thing.

The film had some tense moments but it lacked smooth direction in too many places. Calling it a "gem," as others have, is really a stretch. I see it as a movie best watched while drunk. There was enough going on to be entertaining, but don't expect anything like the realism and pacing of "Deliverance" and a few other truly good survival movies.

One thing that stuck with me was the intro music. A stark guitar piece with a haunting "fog horn" background effect (hard to explain in words). Had the entire movie lived up to the promise of that song it would have been quite decent.

A fun helping of 80s hillbilly horror.

[BA_Harrison · 8/10 · 11 December 2007]

Pull on your dungarees, git yourself some moonshine, and curl up with yer sister on the couch: it's backwoods terror time! Five 'city boys', on a hunting trip in the wilds of Arkansas, end up being hunted themselves after running into a group of inbred poachers who don't take too kindly to strangers—especially Yankees.

All right, Hunter's Blood may not be all that original, utilising the standard 'backwoods' plot line that has served so many films well in the past (and since). But with a pretty solid cast (including Sam Bottoms, Clu Galager, and Ken Swofford), well paced direction, great dialogue, and some juicy gore, it still manages to be a gripping experience.

Director Robert C. Hughes doesn't rush proceedings, taking time to carefully develop his characters before the killing begins. We get to see how the hunters interact with each other, and develop an understanding of their personalities. None of the men are portrayed as saints: even Bottoms' nice-guy intern doctor, David Rand, has a laugh at a barmaid's expense (when the boys stop at a bar to stock up on brews).

Of course, even though the group unwisely mock the locals, they don't quite deserve what happens to them once they begin their hunting trip proper.

The unsavoury poachers soon make their presence known, interrupting the guys at their campsite and causing trouble, until tough old-timer Mason (Galager) sends them packing. Mason also gets in a spot of bother when the hunters accidentally stumble upon the poachers at work, and gets in a vicious scrap with Snake, a slimy looking redneck played by Billy Drago.

Fortunately, as things start to get really nasty, a pair of cops on horseback turn up and arrest the back-woods scum, handcuffing them together and leading them away. However, the bad guys soon manage to escape (after their kin ambush and kill the lawmen) and set out to teach the interferin' city boys a lesson.

From here-on in, things get very nasty. The hunters stumble upon the gruesome remains of the cops (a carved up corpse and a severed head), and realise that they are in deep trouble. Their hunting trip has turned into a fight for survival.

What follows is a tense, action packed slice of survivalist cinema that delivers plenty of nice 'n' nasty scenes of violence (including a great shotgun blast to the face), which is only weakened slightly by opting to have David's pretty wife Melanie (Kim Delaney) turn up to join in the 'fun' (a rather unbelievable, unnecessary and unwelcome plot turn, in my opinion).

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Entertaining

[jfgibson73 · 6/10 · 14 June 2010]

This was a fun B-movie that follows a similar story arc to Deliverance. It's impossible not to mention that movie when talking about this one, but I enjoyed Hunters Blood on its own merits.

Five guys go hunting way out deep in some property that one of them has recently purchased. They are warned by some game wardens that there are locals living in the wild hunting deer to sell to a fast food chain. The men camp out, and that night, the locals show up...

The story was an effective tale of survival. I thought it was slightly more realistic than a lot of low budget action movies, but still done in an entertaining way. There are some frustrating moments when you want the smart people not to make the stupid choice that you know is coming. Still, it was better than one might expect, and I stayed with it to the end. 6 out of 10.

Hunter's Blood

[dukeakasmudge · 3/10 · 11 July 2016]

Deliverance, Rituals & now Hunter's Blood.Between the 3 & my favorite still has to be...... Rituals.Hunter's Blood was a good enough movie that's worth watching at least once & something I'd tell somebody to watch if they were thinking about watching it but it wasn't all that great.I watched it for the 1st time yesterday & watching it for the 1st time after reading the movie description, I was excited.I couldn't wait to see it.As it went on, the excitement wore off & it was a movie that was just there.Hunter's Moon is definitely NO Rituals.I'd still tell anybody to go see Hunter's Blood if they got a chance to see it but it's not a movie that I'd be really curious to know what their opinion of it was after they watched it.If they liked it then good but if they didn't that's fine too.Rituals is still a better movie than Deliverance & Hunter's Blood ........Rituals

Highly enjoyable

[billybrown41 · 22 September 2002]

I found this in a pawn shop for like $3 so I said "why not?". I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but I was pleasantly surprised. While many will say this is an imitation of "Deliverance", "Hunter's Blood" focuses more on the action and survival rather than the human and moral aspects that made "Deliverance" such a masterpiece. Yes, this is a B-movie, but a very well-acted and well-made one at that. It's nothing but pure entertainment and I'm glad I stumbled across it. There's never a dull moment here and there's quite a bit of humor as well. Be on the look-out for a very young, pre-stardom Billy Bob Thornton as one of the good ole boys. Although his role is very brief, he's a hoot to watch and it was a nice surprise to see him in one of his first films. It's a must-see for any of his serious fans. Go catch it, if you can find it.

Typical backwoods thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 28 January 2014]

HUNTER'S BLOOD middle-of-the-road example of a backwoods thriller along the lines of both John Boorman's DELIVERANCE and Walter Hill's SOUTHERN COMFORT. Obviously it can't even hope to come close to the raw, visceral power of either of those movies, but as an '80s-era B-movie I admit it does work rather well. It's packed out with familiar faces, has a decent set-up and worthwhile denouement, and is a film that's tough to dislike.

The plot concerns a group of city boys who decide to go into the wilderness to hunt deer, but of course they're menaced by some rednecks before long. The good guys are led by the ever-excellent Clu Gulager, a man who screams entertainment value, and the group includes John Travolta's less well-known brother Joey. The bad guys are even more interesting: led by Robocop's Lee de Broux, the group includes the hissable Billy Drago and the outrageously sleazy Bruce Glover.

Directorial duties are handled by B-movie maestro Robert C. Hughes, and given that this is a guy with the likes of MEMORIAL VALLEY MASSACRE under his belt, it's fair to say that HUNTER'S BLOOD is probably his best work. It's certainly no classic, and it is a film that has a tendency to fade from the imagination soon after viewing, but as an amiable timewaster it fulfils its duties admirably.

Entertaining enough "Deliverance" knockoff

[ofumalow · 5/10 · 21 February 2016]

This is a very straightforward (i.e. unimaginative) but competently made spin on the basic "Deliverance" premise of some privileged middle-class men going into the wilderness for a little camping/hunting adventure, but running afoul of the stereotypically inbred local hicks. The blundering stupidity the protagonists manifest in repeatedly offending the surly/cumb locals is pretty stupid in itself, but oh well: That's what happens in these kinds of movies.

This film doesn't push the formula toward the overt horror of something like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "The Hills Have Eyes" (though the locals DO, suspiciously, have their very own meat business), but neither is it as credibly harrowing as something like "Eden Lake" or...well, "Deliverance," of course. Performances are OK, pacing is decent. It's all unmemorable but energetically done. My only quibble is a particularly cheap (and pointless) fadeout that suggests "The terror isn't over yet!"

(My only question is: Why was Sam Bottoms billed as "Samuel" here? Did he go through some mid-career phase when he suddenly thought Sam was too childish? I mean, he'd already been acting for 15 years.)

Hunting

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 22 September 2022]

Hickspoitation is a genre I don't get into all that much, but this is a fine example of it and feels like going down to the river (I almost wrote going down river, because Western Pennsylvania language eats all the verbs and connective words).

Look, if you have a girlfriend as hot as Kim Delaney willing to have sex with you at 4 AM and then let you go hunting, you should just skip the outdoors and stay in bed with her. Or the shower. Or anywhere she wants to go.

But yeah. David Rand (Sam Bottoms) leaves Melanie (Delaney) at home and heads off to get a buck with his dad (Clu Gulager), his dad's best friend Big Al (Ken Swofford), Al's brother Ralph (Mayf Nutter) and Marty (Joey Travolta). Every single one of them other than dad - Mason is his name - is a complete idiot. I mean, why would you drive to the woods that you own and then anger the people all around you, the people that have to live there and already resent you?

People like Charles Cyphers, Bruce Glover, Billy Bob Thornton and Micky Jones, all looking like they just want you to screw up so they can set you straight. Of course, the men from the civilized world will have to become uncivilized, as always occurs in these movies.

Director Robert Hughes also made Memorial Valley Massacre, while writer Emmett Alston would also create the script for Three-Way Weekend, Nine Deaths of the Ninja (which he also directed) and New Year's Evil. This movie was based on a novel by Jere Cunningham, who also wrote Judgement Night, which is pretty much the same idea as this except in the inner city.

Violent and exciting backwoods survival horror.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 9 August 2005]

A father-and-son team of hunting guides take a group of city folk into the Arkansas woods,despite some warnings that people have been vanishing inexplicably.When they encounter a family of bloodthirsty,hostile and relentless killers,they become the hunted prey and must use all their skills and knowledge to make it out alive."Hunter's Blood" is an exciting and bloody shocker that owes a lot to "Deliverance" and Canadian horror masterpiece "Rituals".The acting is okay and the action is fast-paced.The stalking scenes are well-photographed and there is enough violence and gore to keep most of the horror fans entertained including vicious stabbings and shots in the face.I'm a big fan of backwoods horror flicks and I enjoyed "Hunter's Blood" very immensely.It's a crying shame that this criminally underrated horror film is so rare and tough to find.Give it a look.8 out of 10.

Very Good Backwoods Movie

[pig_71 · 9/10 · 1 January 2003]

Damn, this was outstanding. Excellent. Clu Galager kicks ace for a while much like in Return of the Living Dead, and I think he is wearing the same jacket. It gets brutal but call it a Deliverance knock off if you want, but it was awesome! **** out of *****

"We can squeeze a trigger as easy as you can!"

[lost-in-limbo · 8/10 · 26 June 2010]

"Deliverance" might be the granddaddy of this popular sub-genre, but "Hunter's Blood" has got be one the better imitators of the fold. I love these backwoods horror / action outings where it all comes down to survival, reverting to instinctive methods to keep alive and this keeps the blood and adrenaline pumping throughout. "Hunter's Blood" actually begins slowly setting-up the well-liked characters and the harrowing situations they find themselves in gradually building-up, but when the bone-rattling horror begins its intrusively nasty and unsparing ride through the wilderness with the pacing and jolts never letting up.

A group of city men (father and son, two brothers and friend) set out for weekend hunting trip. However their fun is short lived when they encounter some psychotic redneck backwoodsmen, who after a couple of heated confrontations take a shine to the city blokes and then begins the fight for life.

Rather a traditional and simple set-up (with it being all about the stalk in a cat and mouse game), but it's excitingly achieved with many taut, suspenseful incidents that you can easily look passed its customary staples. It's well-made and professionally photographed with the strikingly detailed lush backdrop coming off the screen and the atmospherically oozing southern sounding music score camouflaging with the imagery and moods. Helping largely would be that of the strong, character actors the cast bestows. You got a steely Clu Gulager and a burley Ken Swofford leading the way along with Sam Bottoms (who pretty much takes charge with a resilient performance when the chaos erupts), Mayf Nutter and John Travolta's younger brother Joey Travolta. There's such a great, believable rapport built up amongst the group. As for the inbred redneck poachers there are fine performances by Lee de Broux as the leader Red beard and alongside him are Billy Drago (at his slimy best), Charles Cyphers, Bruce Glover (who's dementedly good with that cackling) and Mickey Jones. Finding herself stuck in the middle is the ravishing, but durable Kim Delaney. How her character finds her way in, feels like nothing more than a contrived secondary plot method to add much more tension, but it could have been easily left out. Also showing up is Eugene Robert Glazer, Ray Young and in his debut role is Billy Bob Thorton in very small role as one the rednecks that the boys get into a dispute with at a backwoods bar.

Changed my life

[rickkuis · 10/10 · 26 July 2019]

From late 80's to now July 26th 2019 I've watched this movie over 15K times awake or in my sleep as I lay in total darkness and listen to the film to fall asleep. Clu Gulager shines and R.I.P to San Bottoms back in 2006 I tracked down Rayf Nutter and told him I was doing a article on old backwoods movies and he was really nice. Go to YouTube if u don't own it type in Hunters blood wait till 3am go outside on your smart phone go deep in the woods and watch it with headphones on full blast on a 40 degree morning in your shorts no blanket and tell me it's not scary

Pure 80's Quality

[egorcabbagejuice · 10/10 · 13 June 2011]

I watched this film (without my Mothers permission) when i was a young lad. I thought it was brilliant! It had great characters and the story was simple, but gripping. Also, the gore scenes were much more realistic than other 80's films i've seen. I just love how the story starts of nice and easy watching before making you hold your breath for the remainder of the movie. There are comical moments and pretty disgusting moments, so you really get the whole shebang!

I must say the acting was excellent, especially the hillbillies. They were very believable and if i ever find myself down in the bayou i fully expect the folk down there to look and act like those in the film.

And dare i say it..... i prefer Hunter's Blood over Deliverence.

~HELP~ Does anyone know where i could get the soundtrack for this film? I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist, but just in case..............

Let's not forget Billy Drago

[merklekranz · 8/10 · 14 March 2007]

There has been much mention here regarding the appearance of a very young Billy Bob Thornton. For historical BBT fans, this is a must see. There is another interesting, demented performance from none other than Billy Drago. For these two reasons alone, "Hunter's Blood" should be a keeper. The added bonus is that the movie is actually entertaining. Somewhat talky in the beginning, it gradually builds toward a very satisfying hunted in the woods movie experience. Given that it has a 1987 release date, the movie holds up well, since there is little in the Arkansas outback, other than the Bronco, to indicate a 20 year old production. - MERK

Very entertaining horror in the woods movie!!!!

[cool_cool_1 · 8/10 · 8 March 2006]

Hunters Blood (1987) is a very entertaining fast paced movie about 5 men from the city who travel 2 hours to Arkansas on a weekend so they can go hunting in the forest, drink beer and have fun!!! Things soon take a turn for the worse tho when they find out that there's a horrible redneck family who live in the area where they set up camp. These inbred rednecks are cannibalistic and will stop at nothing to torture and kill our city boys!! Hunters Blood is a great movie with plenty of action, some really gory images along the way and the cast do a fantastic job, Mason is my favourite, he's played by Clu Gulager but i'm being biased because he was great in "Return of the living dead".

I highly recommend this rare horror movie, if you enjoyed "Deliverance" and "Rituals" then you should love this one, this movie gets a well deserved 8/10 from me.